Activating the Past Today's Issue News & Updates
The Workhouse Poverty And Welfare 1 Part History, 2 Parts Shrine


An early form of social welfare, workhouses were a revolutionary yet harsh solution to caring for the poor in Victorian England. Located in an 1824 workhouse that housed poor and homeless individuals and families through to the 1970s, the Workhouse's 'What Now, What Next' exhibit encourages visitors to challenge their concepts of poverty in the past and connect them to present-day realities.

Learn more about The Workhouse. 		Poverty is a chronic lack of money, goods, or other necessities required for a minimal existence. Welfare refers to government policies intended to provide solutions to the problems of poverty, including homelessness, lack of medical care, care of the aged, etc.

Where have people faced similar issues in the past? 		The New York Times highlights the Coalition’s impact on museology in its Special Section on Museums. Read the entire article here. For more recent press, click here.